Planning for Multiple Grade Levels

Welcome all-star teachers! As we jump into today’s topic, I would like you to reflect on your wins for the week.

Every week I want to highlight a teacher’s win. A win can be big or small. I want you to celebrate your wins, and we want to celebrate with you! If you have a win you want to share email me at millie@myadventuresinesl.com. 

Are you teaching different grade levels and are wondering how you can save time planning? Teaching various grade levels in a classroom can have you feeling overwhelmed and confused. You can even feel like you are running in circles wondering what can I do to meet the needs of my students. I think we have all been there at some point in our teaching career. If you haven’t gotten there, keep listening because you want to be prepared.

A few years ago I met a group of students that would change my life. This sounds exciting for me to say at the moment, but at the time I had three different grade levels in one class. I was turning my wheels thinking about how I can serve all three grades in a class. I was spending so much time trying to prepare separate lessons for each grade. There were days where I was spending extra two hours after school to prepare for my classes with different grade levels. I was at a breaking point and didn’t know how much longer I could keep staying after school. I was missing out on so much self-care and time with family and friends because I was trying to prepare for three grade levels. I knew I needed to take a moment and step away. 

After taking a step back, it caused me to refresh my mindset. I stopped and asked myself a simple question. “How can this be streamlined?” That is when I realized that the standards for grades 6-8 are almost identical. I started to brainstorm what does this mean for my students? I was still at a speed bump and I was motivated to get over it. That is when I took my discovery about the standards to my mentor. I explained my frustration and shared my discovery about the standards being almost the same in the three grades. That is when she asked me about teaching the students the same skill across the grade level if the standards are the same. That was the light bulb moment I needed to get over the speed bump.

First look at the varied grade levels in your classroom. Then look at the standards and skills for that grade level. For example, producing complete sentences is a skill (based on the common core standards) that is taught in grades 3-12. So since that skill overlaps with various grade levels that can be one that I teach my students. Second, choose texts that will interest multiple grade levels. You can then use those texts to teach key reading skills that will benefit all of your ELLs. When teaching the skill to your class, use tiered groups to differentiate and enrich learning with your ELLs. You can have groups with different tasks. I want to encourage you to use data from formative assessments to group your ELLs. 

Now it’s time for you to plan for your multiple grade levels. Take a look at your grades progression level. Then identify the skills that overlap with the grades.

What are some strategies you use for teaching different grade levels? Share your time saving tips below in the comments.